Part Of The Knights Of The Board Room Series Rachel Gave Up Seeking A Master Years Ago After A Failed Marriage And Terrible Tragedy, She S Walled Her Soul Against Going Down That Dangerous Path Again Then Jon Joins Her Yoga Class He S Thirteen Years Younger Than She, But His Dominant Nature Threatens Her Shields From The Moment She Recognizes It Not Only Does He Understand What Her Body Wants He Knows What Her Soul Craves Part Of The Five Man Executive Team Of Kensington Associates, Jon Uses His Calm, Philosophical Nature To Defuse Volatile Acquisition Negotiations He Can Compel Opponents To Willingly Surrender When He Draws The Sword That Closes The Deal As A Sexual Dominant, He Employs That Same Expertise A Spiritually Driven Master Who Enjoys Connecting With A Woman S Soul, He Wins Her Utter Submission With His Skills But With Rachel, It Goes Beyond That She S The Submissive His Own Soul Has Always Hungered To Have, And He Won T Hesitate To Use His Talents, As Well As That Of The Other Four KA Men, To Claim Her Publisher S Note Rachel S Sensual Journey To Healing Contains Light Female Female Exploration And Group Sex I don t usually read a lot of BDSM as I don t like the hardcore stuff and end up abandoning the book I usually check out reviews first before deciding to go ahead and read I was a little worried about this one, but I really enjoyed it despite the fact there were a few things that I was uncomfortable with.Jon was a Dom and was well known at his club He admitted that he wasn t usually hardcore but he would be so as and when he thought necessary He loved Rachel and believed that those methods were the only way to reach her he felt it necessary to be strict and punish her if she did not respond or follow instruction properly I will admit and say that I did cringe at some of those punishments, but I kinda understood them and accepted them especially as he did at times have doubts about how he was dealing with her, and that was evident from his conversations with the other Knights Rachel was a woman who desperately wanted to live her life with her Master but didn t believe that she should indulge in those fantasies She had lost her son in Afghanistan a few years ago and was still very traumatised by that She was also traumatised because her husband had divorced her, she was fundamentally a submissive and she felt that she had let him down She had tried to hide her fantasies and desires and be just what her husband wanted but he still left anyway and verbally abused her calling her a whore and a deviant He convinced her that her fantasies were wrong and that anyone who thought or acted them out was dirty There was one particular scene that I struggled with and that was the scene in the car just after they had bumped into the ex husband Rachel had finally started to believe that there was nothing wrong in her fantasies and that she was a beautiful person and it was ok to live her life with her Master if that is what she wanted, but when her ex husband made that nasty comment all her newly found confidence disappeared and she was right back where she started I did skip most of the scene that followed as I just couldn t read it, but I did get the impression that Jon acted out of fear because he couldn t reach Rachel and he was frightened to lose her.I could be totally wrong as I didn t read much of that scene with this assumption and I certainly do not condone his actions because I DON T They were wrong and regardless of whatever reason he should not have acted as such, but I was trying to make sense of why he would behave that way when it was obvious that he wasn t cruel and that he did love Rachel Up until this point my thoughts were steering towards a 4 star rating but because of that scene it has been reduced to 3 stars. 1 star Review edited March 18, 2015Let me preface my review by saying that Afterlife is down to a one star rating due to a non con sex scene Without that scene, I would have given it 3.5 stars My review doesn t reflect how well written the story is it just reflects my opinion, my feelings as well as my issuesYou know that place of utter stillness, the one you find in meditation When she managed a jerky nod, he continued It s a place where you ve let everything that burdens your mind free All those thoughts, good or bad, peaceful or disturbing, can wander in and out of your mind like an open room You don t try to hold onto anything or push it out You release your will and simply be Take a breath Slow, even, deep Let it goBeautiful That s what I love about Joey s writing Afterlife started off innocently enough and I really liked the first third of the story Needless to say that I was incredibly glad I gave this series another try Imagine, I even liked Jon But What I got in the end was a sex fest with a hardcore Dom As far as I can judge yes, I do judge my fictional characters , Jon doesn t deserve the title hero, given the fact what he did at 87% Jon was very harsh and crude and the whole darn thing climaxed pun intended in a way I wish I will never ever read again The scene at 87% was non con, IMO I felt stunned, speechless and I was incredibly upset I wanted to hit Jon I wanted to scratch his eyes out Yeah, Jon, I wanted toteachyou a lesson too After all, he felt the need to teach Rachel a lesson on a regular basis Quid pro quo, right Spanking My ass That s not spanking, my sweet boy, that s hitting a woman s ass Also, I couldn t hear her nickname any I.Just.Can t Sweet girl. She s a forty three year old woman who let him call her sweet girl.Hardcore BDSM stories featuring a slave as a heroine who enjoys being humiliated and degraded just don t appeal to me What actually grabbed me in the first place was the yoga topic Sadly, the yoga philosophy did not mesh with the hardcore BDSM I m sorry to say that I simply don t see the context Period.Another issue of mine was the lack of a safe word Jon took everything for granted he was so sure she could take everything he dished out.The infamous scene view spoiler Rachel lost it after her ex husband said some nasty things to her Jon put her in the limo andLet me go She fought him like a wild animal Don t touch me Get away from me Leave me alone And he thinks To hell with that Yanking her out of the corner of the limo, he banded an arm around her waist and flipped her to the limo carpet on her hands and knees She tried to fight him with nails and teeth Guess what He was so pleased to see it, so he shoved her down on her elbows and he fucked her WTF She said,Stop it Stop ithide spoiler This story focuses on the relationship of Jon Rachel.Jon, team member of Kensington Associates, sets his sights on Rachel, a yoga instructor, who is thirteen years his senior.Rachel is a broken woman emotionally damaged by the loss of her son and the rejection of the one man she thought loved her unconditionally.She s built a fortress around her heart and soul and Jon is determined to blast his way through, however, he realizes his approach to claiming her could possibly shatter her beyond repair.Each member of the K A team make an appearance and that is one of the things that I adore about this series These men are family there is a bond there like no other and when one is in need of them, they are there in full support no matter what.Aside from the 2 teasers I made, this is one of my favorite quotes in this story I had to wipe the tears from my eyes cause I literally laughed out loud Jon s a mechanical and chemical genius Ben thinks Jon s contribution to history will be the Pearly Gate Detonator, a vibrator that allows a woman to die from orgasms, no matter her age or physical condition That way she can have the best possible end when she s terminal or too ancient to carry on any Ben says it would be like a rocket launcher, shooting her straight up and over Heaven s gate, no passport needed. Afterlife, to me, was on the melancholy side Does that make sense well I guess I can only describe it as calming I think because of the way the two of them are spiritually and emotionally, calming is the only way I can describe the mood and tone of Afterlife.If you ve read any other Knights stories, then I don t think you ll be disappointed by this one.This is probably the only series where I ve absolutely loved each one. Still persisting with this series A little better story than the last but I ll stick to 2 1 2 stars because I could see Jon tried hard for the relationship against some odds it worked. Karma or Mercy I need to begun this review with heaping, overflowing draughts off praise Praise for an author who wonderfully weaves a beautiful moving love story of a women who felt herself past her prime A beautiful yoga devotee and teacher who found her strength in her work life and yoga practice after a bitterly disappointing first marriage and the soul shattering grief over loss of her precious young son The Master who turned his focused attention on her is a younger, devastatingly handsome, enlightened , wealthy genius who is one powerful sexual force He also has been her student for a year in the yoga classes she teaches.Jon is one of the Knights of the Boardroom and this book is part of the series of books about these Dominant Masters who once they decide on their chosen woman, they all pitch in so many delightful ways to help their brother of the boardroom seal the deal.The reader is taken on a glorious ride with Rachel who feels insecurities from her own severely critical thoughts about herself Thoughts that were originally planted by her bitter ex husband who criticized her less than vanilla leanings in her desires Thoughts about her age and the little belly she had as a result, plagued her even though she was a lithe and toned yogini More than this, she was a light to all she encountered Further, she had caught the eye, fascination and heart of a true love Could she dare to dream, to fantasize and realize her long forgotten needs and desires with so desirable a partner for one night Even a lifetime The plot of this story did not move quickly in terms of action Rather it was a deliberate unfolding of an intensely personal sexual exploration using yoga as an interesting literary device to express feelings, ideas and themes.Having learned all too late the joys of practicing yoga, I truly enjoyed this aspect but could see it giving pause for a select audience.The BDSM was unapologetically portrayed I also enjoyed this author s presentation of the Dominant submissive relationship The dynamics of the relationship made sense to me, although I am sure it is a real fantasy ride upon which this author takes the reader.And OMGthe scene at the clubthink swoon worthy and times this by a tenfold hotness factor One womanfour uhm maybe five hot Dominant beautiful menone man who devilishly arranged the whole thing is the man ready to swear undying love and fidelity to you This book actually caused me to dream about a futuristic world of Alpha men and mewell I will leave that for another day But seriously, I did have the dream.Lastly, along with all the heat and sensuality of the read, the love story between Rachel and Jon does leave an open question for you as a reader Hopefully you will find your own answer as you read and enjoy this lovely read Did fate operate on the law of karma or was it Love s mercy that brought the lovers their Afterlife before the appointed time One click to enjoy determining the answer. 1st read July 20132nd read May 2015Buddy read with The best book in the series so far To be perfectly honest, I was a bit worried before reading Afterlife All three previous books were much shorter, and as such they were perfectly fine, so I was afraid I might get bored with this one at some point, but since this was the only book between me and Ben s story, I didn t dwell on it much, and I just went for it As I soon realized, I needn t have worried at all Rachel s and Jon s story was one I almost immediately fell in love Before I get into my enchantment with Rachel Jon, I d like to point out a few other things I loved about this book.It was great to see Dana again In Honor Bound she was mostly broken spirited, and seeing her here in a much better physical and psychological state was amazing I think we finally got to see her true quirky nature Peter must have his hands full.Another thing I loved was that we also got a thorough insight into the relationship between KA men, something the length of the book allowed I can t tell you enough how much I enjoyed reading those parts Actually, a lot of that information came from Dana, which, of course, made me like her even You want to know about the KA men They re a pack, a pack that s connected on some visceral male level that s scary as hell to experience, while at the same time you never want that experience to end You belong to one of them, but in a peripheral way, you belong to all of them Like a family, only you have a lot of feelings and experiences with this family that would be highly frowned upon if you truly were blood related Yes, I loved everything Dana said about the Masters in their lives, but if you must know, the things she said about Ben were my favorite Ever since Honor Bound I ve been really eager to read his book I can t wait to see the woman who will finally catch his attention Poor girl You don t see it at first, because of the slick, charming lawyer thing, but he s probably the toughest, most hardcore Master of all of them But the most important lesson was I m here to tell you, when the KA men decide on something, a woman s got a snowball s chance in hell of having any say in it at all She s just got to hang on for the ride of her life Which brings me back to Rachel, who really should have listened to this.Rachel met Jon when he started taking her yoga class Of course that s where Jon would find his soul mate He was attracted to her from the very beginning, but the ring on her finger said she was married, so he never pursued anything with her Still, he kept going back to her class, and did so for about a year He was actually the one who recommended Rachel to be Dana s physical therapist Rachel I can t tell you enough how much I loved that character Honestly, I can t I tried Didn t work.Rachel s life was full of sadness She had lost her son Her marriage had fallen apart On top of all that, her ex husband had made her feel ashamed of who she was and what she needed from a man So much sadness had been in her life that she had even wanted to end it After all that she gave up on finding a right Master, gave up on love, gave up on sexual satisfaction, and found her purpose in her work Her peaceful, mostly empty existence was stirred when Jon Forte joined her class All that time he was making her fantasize about what in her mind could never happen, and when she realized he was a true Master, her yearning got worse At the same time, Jon got the information Rachel in fact wasn t married, so it was time for Jon to go after the woman he had wanted for quite some time.And go after her he did The boy genius with all those inventive toys, and skills of his own body managed to wake every single part of Rachel s body, which she thought was a thing of the past As much as that part was rather easy for Jon, getting Rachel to embrace who she is, and embrace him certainly was not.Personally, I loved each part of their story, and I loved them I didn t have any problems with anything Jon did to make Rachel see that they could make it as a couple even though she was convinced a brilliant man, 13 years her junior could never find happiness with a woman like her However, Rachel is a 24 7 sub, the power exchange was significant, and there were some very intense sessions, one even involving a few other KA men Jon may be a something of a zen Master, but he can be tough, very tough if need be That s just a fair warning I know those are not things for everyone I, however, enjoy this genre, even ones with hardcore BDSM so long as all participants are okay with it Further, I m fan of this author s work, and I m in love with this series I m a bit of a fangirl when it comes to Knights of the Board Room,something I m sure it s quite obvious from my review But no matter how much I adored this book, it does contain certain elements some readers might find objectionable Now, time for book 5 Ben O Callahan, here I come. 5 Things you re afraid to want Stars My last Knight of the Board Room to meet is Jon Forte, the boy genius of the group, the mechanical wiz with an inventor s spirit He is the calm of the group, the one with soothing insight He has known Rachel Madison for a year as his yoga instructor and PT to Dana They have a connection but he is lead to believe she is married by the ring she wears But Rachel is a 43 yr old divorced woman who lost her only son to war She is a submissive who has never had a Master until Jon discovers the truth and decides that he is going after Rachel But Rachel is a broken soul who does not believe in herself She lives but doesn t really live Her past is restraining and suffocating her She believes that her true desires and wants will never happen, that to embrace the life that she has always wished for is just a fantasy that will never happen In order to protect herself, Rachel has constructed very tall walls around herself but the battle that Jon begins, to break down Rachel s walls, is very emotional and moving This story is about trust To trust someone with your heart and soul, when you don t believe in yourself, is frightening, frustrating, enlightening, conflicting, and suffocating But when that one person believes in you and will do whatever it takes, it becomes beautiful, loving, revealing, uplifting and soul shattering Jon believes in Rachel and sets out to prove to her that he will always be there for her and that she can trust him with her heart and soul His belief in the both of them makes this story absolutely inspiring and magically beautiful Rachel runs a lot but Jon is always right behind He knows that convincing Rachel will be difficult but a Knight always wins in the end Their chemistry of off the charts and the pages sizzle.Once again the rest of the Knights are there for Jon They are so intuitive with one another and they are family Whatever one needs, he needs not even to ask, as they are there for each other no matter what With humor, love and strength, their brotherhood is like no other These men have a special place in my heart and I love that the author always incorporates them all into each story They re a pack, a pack that s connected on some visceral male level that s scary as hell to experience, while at the same time you never want that experience to end You belong to one of them, but in a peripheral way, you belong to all of them Like a family, only you have a lot of feelings and experiences with this family that would be highly frowned upon if you truly were blood related I will say that reading a Joey W Hill book is always intensely sensual, extremely loving, beautifully visual, and absolutely stunning on every level imaginable Her way with words is addicting and poetic Every word makes feel every emotion under the sun The BDSM life is not for everyone but beautifully scripted words about the lifestyle is nothing short of mesmerizing and magnificent I love this series and CAN NOT wait for the next book in the series about Celeste and Leland Joey W Hill is a phenomenal writer I have many books series of hers to discover I will forever be indebted to Irene for introducing me to the wonderful world of Joey W Hill.BR with my Jxxx and Irene we can always get her to reread about a Knight My second third favorite book of the series after Hostile Takeover and now Willing Sacrifice sorry, Jon.LOVE Jon His wisdom, his calm, his kink, the fact that he is man enough to do Yoga even being 1 5 of the macho Doms Knights group, LOL and that he fell for Rachel whom I adore Rachel s story broke my heart It made me that much happier when she finally got her own HEA Nice to see an older h younger H pairing Joey has done a wonderful job with both characters Easy 4 stars